[RFI] Interesting case of RFI

Thu Apr 22 14:55:29 EDT 2021

Don,
That is a smart way to handle this sort of issue, and I do close to the 
same...  I do not however give cookies, but I will from now on... 
Thanks for the tip.

73, and thanks,
Dave (NK7Z)
https://www.nk7z.net
ARRL Volunteer Examiner
ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources

On 4/21/21 7:20 AM, Don Kirk wrote:
> Hi Chris,
> 
> Below (between the dashed lines) is the gist of the note I leave people if
> I believe their property is causing interference at my house, or the
> information I have other hams leave if the RFI is causing them problems.  I
> only contact property owners when I'm pretty darn sure I've tracked the RFI
> down to their property (like 95 percent or higher confidence level).  When
> I talk with the property owner on the phone or in person I tell them I'm
> almost 100 percent positive it's their property based on the limited access
> I had during my track because I did not venture onto their property and if
> it's not their property then it's one of the properties adjacent to theirs.
> 
> Here is the gist of my note:
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I tell them my name and that I'm one of their neighbors (or live in the
> same subdivision as an example) and I give them my address.  I tell them
> I'm a ham radio operator and need their help regarding some radio frequency
> interference that I've tracked down that I'm pretty sure is coming from
> their property.  If I'm dealing with a commercial property I will also
> mention that I hold a FCC commercial general radiotelephone licensee and I
> provide my licensee number.  I tell them I need their help to confirm that
> the radio frequency interference is indeed coming from their property, and
> if it is then we can discuss ways to mitigate it.  I give them my phone
> number and e-mail address, and I tell them I can send them a link to my
> youtube video that documents the problem and, and to please call me as soon
> as possible so we can discuss.
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Note: in the above mentioned note I let them know who I am and where I live
> so they don't think I'm some kind of scam artist, etc.  I always try and
> say I'm a neighbor to really keep things neighborly so to speak.  I always
> just write the note by hand (or e-mail if I'm dealing with a commercial
> property), and I take a picture of the note so I remember what I said.  If
> dealing with a commercial property I include the link to my youtube video
> in the e-mail.
> 
> Sometimes they ask right away what can be done to fix the problem once we
> find it, and I tell them there are often various options including simple
> filters that they often see on power cords or an exchange of the device (I
> use Comcast cable boxes as an example for the exchange of a device which
> has worked for me in the past), but I tell them not to worry about that
> until we figure out what device is causing the problem.
> 
> I don't mention anything about the FCC, rules or regulations, etc. during
> my first exchange with the property owner.  The only time I bring these
> topics up is if the property owner is not being cooperative and starts
> challenging me or totally ignores me which really has only happened a few
> times (twice from commercial business owners and one time from a
> homeowner).  I tell these uncooperative people that I'm trying to work with
> them in a friendly manner and I'm sure they want to do the same thing
> versus getting government authorities like the FCC involved and their
> lawyers, etc.  These difficult people quickly turned around and started
> cooperating, and in one of these cases the commercial property owner and I
> really formed a pretty good bond (jokes about RFI via e-mail, etc.).  There
> was only one case where I provided some written material by the ARRL to the
> home owner who did not initially replay to my note, and the home owner
> turned out to be an inactive ham in my subdivision that had not had time
> responding to my first note due to his work situation.
> 
> After we figure out what device is causing the problem I provide some
> guidance/options they can try to mitigate the problem but I tell them
> upfront (in writing, and usually just in e-mail text) that they must make
> the decision as I can't be held liable.
> 
> After a case has been resolved I always bake brownies and cookies and
> deliver them to the property owner.
> 
> Hope this helps, and I have no idea how many cases I've worked on but it's
> too many to count.  Everyone has their own approach, but the approach I've
> listed above has worked great for me.
> 
> 73,
> Don (wd8dsb)
> 
> On Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 11:08 AM Christopher Wawak <kc2ieb at wawak.org> wrote:
> 
>> Hi - would you be able to share the gist of the note, please? As someone
>> who's just learning, I find it helpful to see all the tools that work, not
>> just the fancy ones that make sparks! :)
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 8:42 AM Don Kirk <wd8dsb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Two weekends ago I tracked down some RFI that was very strong at the QTH
>>> of
>>> Justin (KD9PLD), and thought I would share a link to my unlisted youtube
>>> video that documents the case for those interested.  Normally I keep my
>>> videos to about 2 or 3 minutes in length and apologize that this video is
>>> over 7 minutes in length but this was somewhat of an unusual case and it
>>> was raining which did not help.  Justin reported that this RFI started up
>>> every morning and ran continuously until evening (example: 9 am until 9
>>> pm).  I actually was able to catch it when it started up.  Jump to the
>>> 6:50
>>> point in the video if you just want to see what the signal looked like on
>>> both 40 and 30 meters while sitting in Justin's driveway.  The home I
>>> identified as the suspect home was located 700 feet North of Justin's
>>> home.
>>>
>>> Youtube Video Link: https://youtu.be/aOBD4xYtUWE
>>>
>>> What's interesting about this case is that Justin left the suspect
>>> homeowner a very nice note last week which included a link to my youtube
>>> video, and the RFI stopped the very next day and has not appeared since.
>>> The homeowner never contacted Justin even though Justin asked him to
>>> please
>>> call.  We certainly would like to know what device was causing the RFI (we
>>> have our suspicions, but I never like to guess) but more importantly we
>>> would like to know that the RFI will not reappear, but for the moment we
>>> are happy that it's not present.  Justin does not know the homeowner but
>>> maybe someday they will meet when both are outdoors so they can talk about
>>> the situation in more detail, etc.
>>>
>>> Just FYI,
>>> Don (wd8dsb)
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> RFI mailing list
>>> RFI at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
>>>
>>
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